


Letters from across the Void

by SurlyAlpaca



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Grief/Mourning, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25826170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SurlyAlpaca/pseuds/SurlyAlpaca
Summary: Covering the events of Shadowbringers, the Warrior of Light sends a series of letters to her friend Lyse.
Relationships: Lyse Hext & Warrior of Light
Kudos: 5





	Letters from across the Void

Lyse,

I've given this letter to an immortal creature who will hopefully remember to cross the void between worlds and deliver this to my most discreet retainer in hopes that she will find the time to deliver it to your hands. And to think we once thought our lives simple.

Firstly, the news I passed on to Tataru I now pass on to you as well: I have crossed the void between the worlds and am now here on what we have been calling the First. I have found the twins and we are well aware of where the others are. It was a relief seeing them, hearing their voices, seeing them move rather than being just sleeping shells of themselves. It is a temporary relief, however. We still don't know how to return and the task we've been summoned here to do is, shall we say, monumental. Another world teeters on Calamity and we do as Louisoix would have us do and throw ourselves against the onslaught so that the sun might dawn for others on the morrow.

There have been so many versions of that last paragraph and that is the least bitter among them.

My time is limited. I gave Tataru a more in-depth description of events with orders to pass it on to certain parties. Yourself among them. My duties to Eorzea.

You asked me once, when we first arrived on the Azim Steppe, what it felt like returning home. And I told you then I had no home, that I felt nothing. Well time has proven me a liar and every time I pause for a second and let my mind wander from its current task I find my thoughts drifting back home. To the Rising Stones and Ishgard. To you.

I would very much like, just for once, for the world to save itself. Barring that I will continue to do as I have always done.

I haven't the foggiest notion if my rather obtuse delivery system will allow for return letters. Just know that I await the day when I properly return to tell you in person the things I have seen, and you may in turn tell me of everything I missed.

Regards,  
R

* * *

Lyse,

I pray to all the gods who might be listening that you could here and I praise them at the same time that you are not. There is so much beauty to be seen in this world. There are so many places I wish I could show you. And if we fail it's all gone.

A brief update: Thancred found us and he has a young charge in tow. They call her Minfilia but she is not our Minfilia. Just a reborn soul in the body of a girl who is much too young for the bloody charge laid at her feet. With them we have found Urianger who seems far more attuned with his circumstances than the rest of us put together. Which honestly does not surprise me in the least. He appreciates an insurmountable challenge far more than any healthy person should.

But Minfilia. That was a surprise. She hasn’t seen a full fifteen summers yet and is fragile in the way all youths are as they begin their awakening to adulthood. Thancred has been tutoring her in the necessities of battle and she has taken to it distressingly well. Despite her age I found her a reliable ally when the fighting begins. And it says a great deal about how fucked this world is when children her age have to take up arms.

I can’t stress this enough: she is so young. If it weren’t for Hydaelyn’s bloody blessing she wouldn’t be here with us at all. The blessing has also leached all colour from her except for her eyes: vivid blue. It's uncanny. As uncanny as hearing some say Minfilia and my old heart suddenly perks up only to be let down. And she knows this, Nhaama help her, she knows this and feels at fault for everything though you can't lay the slightest shred of blame at her feet.

I wish you were here because of how Thancred is treating her. She may no longer be a child but she’s also not fully an adult yet and that is such a delicate time. He can't help but look at her and feel the loss of our Minfilia even more. He shuts down any display of emotion in her presence and it's so painfully obvious that she craves validation. While I fully understand his grief I do not approve of his coldness to her. It is so painfully easy to break someone if you don't show them you care.

And I fear that our line of work has hollowed out our abilities to give comfort. The others let him treat Minfilia the way he does. Oh, they are gentle with her, make no mistake. But no one seems willing to challenge Thancred on his behaviour towards her. 

You've been friends with him for longer than I, I wish you were here so I'd have some backup when confronting him on this behaviour. Or, at the very least, to help me beat some sense into him. Either or. I’m still not sure if I can receive letters from the Source but I’m begging you for any insight you may have on how to deal with him.

Regards,  
R

PS: I am trying to get Alphinaud to sketch Urianger's new outfit. You simply will not believe it.

* * *

Lyse,

Nhaama, I miss you. I hope this letter finds you well. I have received no news from home so I hope nothing abnormally terrible is happening.

I can only assume Tataru is doing her due diligence and sending out my formal reports, but for the love of all that is good and proper make sure you get the last one. An Ascian has made contact. Peacefully. Inserted himself into our little party over mine and Thancred's objections.

And he talks. Gods, he won't shut up. And I'm terrified more than anything that he's not lying to us. You'll understand why when you read the report. There is more I could be saying but it's all half baked right now and I don't want to waste precious paper on potentially worthless rumours.

Look at this: halfway through the sheet and I haven't even touched upon Y'shtola. She’s as well as can be expected and sends her regards. We spent time reminiscing about the last occasion the three of us were all able to sit down together and just relax.

Of all the others she had fled furthest from the Crystarium. She distrusts the Exarch immensely, a sentiment I share. It should come as no surprise that she launched her own investigations into our predicament. The amount of work that woman does never ceases to frighten me.

They've all been here years, the other Scions. Ripped from their duties and homes and families and pulled here against their will. Little wonder we're all a bit grim and mistrustful.

Yet here Shtola found herself a home with a congregation of religious scholars living in a jungle, all of them bent on unearthing the secrets of a dead empire. The other day I slipped away to fish for a bit and she joined me by the waters edge. We sat for hours and she spun theory after theory about a vanished culture. Nothing about our chat had any bearing whatsoever on our current problem at hand. It felt good, a little bit of normality amidst all this bullshit.

Even with a world ending she finds time for joy and to make connections with people. And yes a side of me says that of course it takes the end of the world for Shtola to be sociable, but the other side of me wonders if she is on to something.

It is worth thinking about.

Regards,  
R

* * *

Lyse,

I pray this letter finds you well. My fae connection has returned with no letters so I can only hope that my own missives are making it to you. Which also means that if you are replying I know nothing of what you're saying. It feels very one sided, honestly. I apologize for that. I don't want to treat you as some sort of dumping ground for my thoughts but for lack of your words all I have is what is happening here to discuss.

So. The big news: I got to say goodbye to Minfilia again. Our Minfilia.

It was quick, really. I was an afterthought. She had stayed around in spirit form long enough to have a chat with her inheritor (Thancred’s ward, whom I told you of earlier). What they spoke about is between them and not for me to spread around. Just know that our Minfilia is finally at rest and that she is pleased and proud with how her inheritor has chosen to move forward.

She has her own name now: Ryne. I don’t know if you two will ever meet but I still want you to know who is carrying on Minfilia’s work.

Thancred pulled his head out of his ass and is making amends. He’s lucky he had the chance, he nearly didn’t. He came very close to death at one point. And yes I know we joke about how that happens at least once a week with him but it was no joke this time. We were fortunate, however. With everything else going on I can’t contemplate losing someone else.

Imagine dying and leaving the thoughts in your heart unspoken. Unknown. Imagine someone not knowing they were loved.

Well, on that grim note I must take my leave. Ryne has uncovered our next target. We are getting close to the end of this terrible hunt. My heart aches for everyone back home.

Regards,  
R

* * *

Lyse,

Miracle of miracles; my fae contact appeared before me but hours ago, burdened down with a sizable stack of letters. You can hardly comprehend how deliriously happy I was when I saw your handwriting. And I feel deep shame that for every letter I wrote to you I see at least two you wrote for me. I will need to spend more time at my writing desk, it seems.

I’m glad to hear things in Ala Mhigo are progressing well. I’m glad to hear that you are doing well. And please, never ever apologize for not being here. We all have people who need us and right now what your country needs is people like you. I’m just a fighter who is too stubborn to admit defeat, I’m made for problems like what we're handling here. I could never manage what you are doing for the Alliance.

As to all your other questions I will answer them soon. Your letters arrived on the eve of our final push and my time is sadly limited. We have a plan to take down the final Lightwarden. It's audacious, honestly. The sort of ridiculous crap in those Limsan adventure novels that Tataru keeps pushing on us. Remember that one you particularly hated? When the heroes had to stop every few pages to monologue about the evils of Allag and how there was that painfully anemic love triangle thrown in for drama? Our plan is crazier than that one. (But no bedroom meltdowns at least.)

And yet I can’t help but to hope.

All of the threads we have been pulling, all the friendships we’ve made, the lives we’ve saved: it's all coming together. It is an audacious plan that would have no chance of working if it weren’t for the brilliance of everyone else here. This isn’t one of those fucking Limsan novels where the hero does everything and people swoon and love being saved. Lyse, these people are saving themselves. We just gave them the push.

It feels like the eve before the Ala Mhigo offensive, honestly. With all the banners of Eorzea there. The mingling of forces from all our nations along with our allies who chose to take the field with us. The victory at Ala Mhigo belonged to so many. This feels the same.

The trap of the hero is to believe you must do it all on your own for it to work out. But alone I would never have achieved something like what I see before me now.

I have made a friend here, of whom I can write little about right now. What I can say is that he understands the burden of our task in a way few can comprehend. It means a lot to know you aren’t alone. He remembers thinking that in order to save the world he and his had to stand alone against the problem, but that isn’t quite the reality is it?

(And before you ask because I know you no he’s a friend not a “friend”.)

I wish there was a way I could have you two meet, I suspect you might like him. He deserves better than the hand that fate has dealt to him. Hopefully on the morrow that will change. Hopefully I’ll be able to come home and tell you how his story had a happy ending.

I remain,  
R

PS: I’ll pass your thanks on to Alphinaud. And yes, the details are correct, Urianger really is wearing that much jewelry these days.

* * *

_Undelivered: A collection of crumpled papers burns brightly in the fireplace in a room in the Pendants. A hundred variations on the same words light up momentarily, blaze brilliantly for a few seconds, and then fall to ash._

* * *

Lyse,

This is going to be scattered. I'm sorry. I've had a week. You'll hear the details soon enough, but know that one less Ascian will be troubling us in the future.

He stood alone in the end and failed. I stood with my friends and now I'm here, writing this to you.

Life serves to remind me again and again that we are only as strong as our friendships.

There are so many people I want to speak with. Spend some time with Tataru just talking about nothing related to work. Go terrorize some scholars with Y’shtola. And yes, before you make your jokes, more nights with a certain Ishgardian.

I've come to the conclusion that the world will never not need saving. That is just the way of it. If I wait for a moment of peace then I will never have time to myself. I must find my moments in those little in-between spaces. Or make my own.

I've told you before about my sister: I was closer to her than any other and when she died my heart nearly broke. A pain you understand as well. Lyse, we will never get our sisters-by-blood back, but I would be remiss not to tell you that I've come to regard you as my found-sister. I hope my actions have conveyed that sentiment but events of the last week have told me that perhaps I should be telling those whom I hold closest to my heart that they reside there.

And so, my heart on paper: I think of you as my sister, Lyse. I would die for you, but I would rather live instead as we forge a better future for others together. 

I wish I could speak those words out loud but as you know that is hard for me to do. So I must trust this letter to do that for me. What I cannot do is entrust this revelation to the oddities of fae magic or the schedule of my overworked retainer.

This letter I will deliver by hand.

**Author's Note:**

>  _**throws confetti in the air**_ Happy 5.3 maintenance day! I'm happy to get this piece about my WoLs 5.0 trauma out into the wild before she is re-traumatized by 5.3.  
> The very last line is totally "inspired by" aka borrowed with some alterations from China Mievelle's novel "The Scar".


End file.
